COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONEach year, when people are starting to unpack their winter clothes and replenish their firewood, our tiny brewery in the coastal redwoods of Northern California makes seasonal preparations of a different kind. As the cold arrives, we release a unique beverage created to add warmth to even the coldest and darkest of winter's days. Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale begins with a very high original gravity to create a hearty and spicy brew with a deep amber hue and a smooth finish. Anderson Valley Brewing Company wishes you the very best for the holiday season and the New Year.

(bottle, 35.5cl) Hazy, copper colour with a firm medium-sized and tanned foamy head. Caramel-malty, spicy and mildly berry-fruity aroma. Moderately sweet and slightly bitter flavour, medium to light bodied with a modest carbonation. Cara-malty taste with notes of berries, milk chocolate and a spicy touch of cinnamon and vanilla; mildly sweet-bitter finish with balanced fruity and spicy accents; especially the latter are lingering into the aftertaste. Stylewise not my cup of tea, but this one works for me. 01.III.13

A 12oz bottle which has a best before 10 June 2016 sticker on it (seems a bit long too me…). It poured into a pint glass a slightly hazy deep amber colour with a one finger tan head which disappears slowly. Strong smell of vanilla, caramel and malt in that order followed by some light toffee. Taste was very much like the nose. Prominent vanilla and toffee followed by caramel. Not too sweet which I like. It was full bodied, creamy with some light carbonation. This one surprised me in a good way. Although the aroma was a bit weak, the taste was nice as the vanilla, toffee and caramel tastes mixed well together. I would buy this again, but definitely for the winter while its cold and not during the warm spring as it is now.

Pours walnut into the glass, with a 2-finger eggshell head that reduces to a thick ring of lace down the pour. The nose is of caramel and spiced banana bread. Flavors are nicely pie-spiced caramel, comforting subtle yeasty esters, finishing with lightly spiced bitters, just enough to put a nice close to the pull. The complexity is great for a sweetly-spiced winter brew. Substantial palate, but smooth and almost liqueur-ish woody mouthfeel. This is a wonderfully comforting, and I do mean wonderfully comforting cold winter offering. I love the sweet and spiced bready contingencies at work here. A lovely seasonal brew!

Old rating. Bottles upon bottles from old town. A winter tradition for me at one time. Nice brown soda color with a tan head. Solid lacing. Aromas of bread, clove, Werther’s original, cinnamon and caramel. Tastes more of the same. Slightly sweet with a bready texture. Nice spice on the finish. Good winter seasonal.

Bottlr. Pours deep copper with small white head which goes away too quickly. Aroma of cherry syrope and candy sugar, with light diacetyl in the background. No spices are present at all. Taste is sweet with butterish and sticky feeling. Taste of artificially flavoured syrope. I have no idea why this one is supposed to have anything to do with winter time? It is way too sweet and buttered to be enjoyable. Surprisingly AV dissapointed me on this one - maybe this batch went wrong/

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